snob
English
Etymology
Late 18th century dialectal English snob (“cobbler”), of unknown origin. Early senses of the word carried the meaning of "lower status"; it was then used to describe those seeking to imitate those of higher wealth or status. Folk etymology derives it from the Latin phrase sine nobilitate (“without nobility”), but early uses had no connection to this.[1][2]
The modern sense was popularized by William Makepeace Thackeray in The Book of Snobs (1848).[3]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: snŏb, IPA(key): /snɒb/Category:English 1-syllable words#SNOBCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#SNOB
- (General American) enPR: snŏb, IPA(key): /snɑb/Category:English 1-syllable words#SNOBCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#SNOB
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#SNOBAudio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɒbCategory:Rhymes:English/ɒb#SNOBCategory:Rhymes:English/ɒb/1 syllable#SNOB
Noun
snob (plural snobs)Category:English lemmas#SNOBCategory:English nouns#SNOBCategory:English countable nouns#SNOBCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
- (informalCategory:English informal terms#SNOB, derogatoryCategory:English derogatory terms#SNOB) A person who wishes to be seen as a member of the upper classes and who looks down on those perceived to have inferior or unrefined tastes. [from 20th c.]
- 1907, E. Nesbit, The Enchanted Castle:
- "How do you do?" said Mabel politely. "No, I'm not from the town. I live at Yalding Towers." The name seemed to impress Mademoiselle very much. Gerald anxiously hoped in his own mind that she was not a snob.Category:English terms with quotations#SNOB
- 1918, Walter Lionel George, A Novelist on Novels:
- Proceed as a snob climbing the social ladder, namely, know the best people in the neighbourhood, then the best people they know. The end is not that of snobbery, but an eternal treasure.Category:English terms with quotations#SNOB
- 1920 September, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, “The Four Fists”, in Flappers and Philosophers, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 249:
- Outside of his own set he was considered rather a snob, but as his set was the set, it never worried him.Category:English terms with quotations#SNOB
- 1958, Arnold Wesker, Roots:
- If wanting the best things in life means being a snob then glory hallelujah I'm a snob.Category:English terms with quotations#SNOB
- (colloquialCategory:English colloquialisms#SNOB) A cobbler or shoemaker. [from 18th c.]
- 1929, Frederic Manning, The Middle Parts of Fortune, Vintage, published 2014, page 57:
- The snobs were also kind to him, and gave him a pair of boots which they assured him were of a type and quality reserved entirely for officers […]Category:English terms with quotations#SNOB
- (datedCategory:English dated terms#SNOB) A member of the lower classes; a commoner. [from 19th c.]
- 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:
- 'D'ye know a slap-up sort of button, when you see it?' said the youth. 'Don't look at mine, if you ain't a judge, because these lions' heads was made for men of taste: not snobs.'Category:English terms with quotations#SNOB
- 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 31, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
- I like better gin-and-water than claret. I like a sanded floor in Carnaby Market better than a chalked one in Mayfair. I prefer Snobs, I own it.Category:English terms with quotations#SNOB
- 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
- I tell you, sir, that I have a brain of my own, and that I should feel myself to be a snob and a slave if I did not use it.Category:English terms with quotations#SNOB
- (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#SNOB) A workman who works for lower wages than his fellows, especially one who will not join a strike (a scabCategory:English links with manual fragments#SNOB).
- (Cambridge UniversityCategory:Cambridge University English#SNOB) A townsman, as opposed to a gownsman.
- Synonym: cad
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Greek: σνομπ (snomp)
Translations
See also
- hobnob (verb)Category:English links with manual fragments#SNOB (a social climber element has often existed with both terms' senses)
References
- ↑ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Snob”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
- ↑ “snob”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- ↑ Anatoly Liberman (14 May 2008), “Snob Before and After Thackeray”, in OUPblog
Further reading
snob on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - “snob”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- “snob”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
Anagrams
Category:en:People#SNOBDutch
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Dutch terms borrowed from English#SNOBCategory:Dutch terms derived from English#SNOB snob.
Pronunciation
Noun
snob m (plural snobs, diminutive snobje n)Category:Dutch lemmas#SNOBCategory:Dutch nouns#SNOBCategory:Dutch nouns with plural in -s#SNOBCategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Dutch masculine nouns#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
Derived terms
Anagrams
Category:nl:People#SNOBFrench
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:French terms borrowed from English#SNOBCategory:French terms derived from English#SNOB snob.
Pronunciation
Adjective
snob (plural snobs)Category:French lemmas#SNOBCategory:French adjectives#SNOBCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
- snobbish, snobby
- 1954, “J’suis snob”, performed by Boris Vian:
- J’suis snob… J’suis snob / C’est vraiment l’seul défaut que j’gobeCategory:French terms with quotations#SNOB
- I'm a snob… I'm a snob / It's really the only fault I can stomach having
Descendants
Noun
snob m or f by sense (plural snobs)Category:French lemmas#SNOBCategory:French nouns#SNOBCategory:French countable nouns#SNOBCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:French masculine and feminine nouns by sense#SNOBCategory:French masculine nouns#SNOBCategory:French feminine nouns#SNOBCategory:French nouns with multiple genders#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
- snob
- C’est un snob.
- He's a snob.
Derived terms
Further reading
- “snob”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
Anagrams
Category:fr:Personality#SNOBIndonesian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Indonesian terms borrowed from English#SNOBCategory:Indonesian unadapted borrowings from English#SNOBCategory:Indonesian terms derived from English#SNOB snob.
Noun
snob (plural snob-snob)Category:Indonesian lemmas#SNOBCategory:Indonesian nouns#SNOBCategory:Indonesian entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
Further reading
- “snob”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016
Italian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Italian terms borrowed from English#SNOBCategory:Italian unadapted borrowings from English#SNOBCategory:Italian terms derived from English#SNOB snob.
Pronunciation
Noun
snob m (invariable)Category:Italian lemmas#SNOBCategory:Italian nouns#SNOBCategory:Italian countable nouns#SNOBCategory:Italian indeclinable nouns#SNOBCategory:Italian entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Italian masculine nouns#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
Adjective
snob (invariable)Category:Italian lemmas#SNOBCategory:Italian adjectives#SNOBCategory:Italian indeclinable adjectives#SNOBCategory:Italian entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
References
- ↑ snob in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Polish terms borrowed from English#SNOBCategory:Polish terms derived from English#SNOB snob.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsnɔp/Category:Polish 1-syllable words#SNOBCategory:Polish terms with IPA pronunciation#SNOB
Category:Polish terms with audio pronunciation#SNOBAudio: (file) - Rhymes: -ɔpCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɔp#SNOBCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɔp/1 syllable#SNOB
- Syllabification: snob
- Homophone: snopCategory:Polish terms with homophones#SNOB
Noun
snob m pers (female equivalent snobka)Category:Polish lemmas#SNOBCategory:Polish nouns#SNOBCategory:Polish entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Polish masculine nouns#SNOBCategory:Polish personal nouns#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
- snob (person who seeks to be a member of the upper classes)
Declension
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- snob in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- snob in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese
Noun
snob m or f by sense (plural snobs)Category:Portuguese lemmas#SNOBCategory:Portuguese nouns#SNOBCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#SNOBCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Portuguese masculine and feminine nouns by sense#SNOBCategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#SNOBCategory:Portuguese feminine nouns#SNOBCategory:Portuguese nouns with multiple genders#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
- alternative form of snobe
Further reading
- “snob”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
- “snob”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from FrenchCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from French#SNOBCategory:Romanian terms derived from French#SNOB snob.
Adjective
snob m or n (feminine singular snobă, masculine plural snobi, feminine/neuter plural snobe)Category:Romanian lemmas#SNOBCategory:Romanian adjectives#SNOBCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
Declension
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Serbo-Croatian terms borrowed from English#SNOBCategory:Serbo-Croatian terms derived from English#SNOB snob.
Pronunciation
Noun
snȍb m anim (Cyrillic spelling сно̏б)Category:Serbo-Croatian lemmas#SNOBCategory:Serbo-Croatian nouns#SNOBCategory:Serbo-Croatian masculine animate nouns#SNOBCategory:Serbo-Croatian entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Serbo-Croatian masculine nouns#SNOBCategory:Serbo-Croatian animate nouns#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
Declension
Slovak
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Slovak terms borrowed from English#SNOBCategory:Slovak terms derived from English#SNOB snob.
Pronunciation
Noun
snob m pers (genitive singular snoba, nominative plural snobi, genitive plural snobov, declension pattern of chlapCategory:Slovak links with redundant wikilinks#SNOB)Category:Slovak lemmas#SNOBCategory:Slovak nouns#SNOBCategory:Slovak entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Slovak masculine nouns#SNOBCategory:Slovak personal nouns#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
Declension
Derived terms
Further reading
- “snob”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from English#SNOBCategory:Spanish terms derived from English#SNOB snob.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /esˈnob/ [ezˈnoβ̞]Category:Spanish 2-syllable words#SNOBCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#SNOB
- IPA(key): /ˈsnob/ [ˈznoβ̞]Category:Spanish 1-syllable words#SNOBCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#SNOB
- Syllabification: snob
Noun
snob m (plural snobs)Category:Spanish lemmas#SNOBCategory:Spanish nouns#SNOBCategory:Spanish countable nouns#SNOBCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#SNOBCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#SNOBCategory:Pages with entries#SNOBCategory:Pages with 11 entries#SNOB
- alternative form of esnob
Further reading
- Seco, Manuel; Andrés, Olimpia; Ramos, Gabino (2023), “snob”, in Diccionario del español actual (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA
- snob | Diccionario • DELE Ahora